MCDONALD’s is celebrating after its 50th employee in Swindon gained an apprenticeship as part of the company’s investment in staff training.

Through hard work and dedication, Suzie Male, 29, became the 50th employee in the town to complete the qualification this month and is keen to work her way up through the ranks at the fast food restaurant at the North Swindon Orbital branch.

Awarded a ‘good’ rating in its first Ofsted inspection, the McDonald’s apprenticeship provides in demand, job specific skills in customer service, teamwork and communications.

The apprenticeship qualification, which is equivalent to five GCSEs, is in the middle of the McDonald’s ‘learning ladder’, which ranges from work experience for 16-year-old schoolgoers to a foundation degree in managing business operations for restaurant managers.

Suzie said: “When I moved to Swindon I started at McDonald’s as more of an interim job because the flexible working hours fitted in well with my family commitments, but I soon discovered there were a lot of opportunities available to me to carve out a great career.

“It was great to be able to learn more about every area of the business and put this in to practice, as well as brush up on my maths and English.

“The support I was given and the opportunity to learn while I earned has meant I’m now signing up for the management course in January and I look forward to progressing on my career path.”

Nationally recognised and City and Guild’s accredited, the apprenticeship provides employees with transferable skills they can use in their role at McDonald’s and in their future careers. These apprentices are among almost 14,000 other McDonald’s staff across the UK to complete the qualification since it was launched in 2009.

Paul Booth, franchisee of the Swindon restaurant, said: “I’m very proud of Suzie and all my employees that have opted to take the McDonald’s apprenticeship.

“Vocational qualifications are more relevant than ever before as they provide people with the opportunity to continue gaining qualifications at the same time as working in a relevant employment sector.”

“It’s great to see that so many of my staff are making the most of the opportunities we provide and are looking at ways to strengthen their career paths – wherever that may take them in the future.”

To find out more about the training opportunities McDonald’s offers and to download a prospectus, visit mcdonalds.co.uk/people.